Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Playa del Carmen

For one person, living is cheaper in Playa del Carmen: $1,204 a month against $2,048 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, rent and utilities included – about $10,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

99

Cost of Living Index in Santa Cruz de Tenerife
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Santa Cruz de Tenerife Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Playa del Carmen
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Playa del Carmen Living Index

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Santa Cruz de Tenerife

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,048

/mo nomad

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,204

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and in Playa del Carmen

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and in Playa del Carmen actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,048 per month in Santa Cruz de Tenerife vs $1,204 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife $2,048
Playa del Carmen $1,204

A couple spends around $2,946 per month in Santa Cruz de Tenerife vs $2,082 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife $2,946
Playa del Carmen $2,082

A family of three spends $3,845 per month in Santa Cruz de Tenerife vs $2,959 in Playa del Carmen, rent included.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife $3,845
Playa del Carmen $2,959

Santa Cruz de Tenerife costs about 70% more than Playa del Carmen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife sits 50% above the global median, while Playa del Carmen is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.33 €18.26

$10.92 MX$204

86.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.8 €54.6

$43.37 MX$808

40.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.00 €9.88

$11.78 MX$220

-6.62%

Cappuccino

$1.99 €1.79

$3.81 MX$71.0

-47.77%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 €1.68

$1.28 MX$23.90

46.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.24 €1.11

$0.78 MX$14.59

58.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.81 €2.53

$3.17 MX$59.0

-11.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.28 €2.95

$4.93 MX$92.0

-33.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 €1.24

$1.41 MX$26.22

-2.13%

White Bread (500g)

$2.46 €2.21

$2.22 MX$41.33

10.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.59 €1.43

$1.42 MX$26.42

11.97%

Eggs

$4.13 €3.71

$2.52 MX$47.03

63.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.32 €17.35

$7.26 MX$135

166.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.01 €8.99

$7.70 MX$143

30.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.56 €15.77

$12.69 MX$237

38.38%

Apples (1kg)

$2.79 €2.50

$2.78 MX$51.9

0.36%

Banana (1kg)

$2.32 €2.08

$1.37 MX$25.50

69.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.17 €1.95

$2.55 MX$47.55

-14.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 €2.31

$2.12 MX$39.58

21.23%

Potato (1kg)

$2.12 €1.90

$1.94 MX$36.13

9.28%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 €1.74

$1.89 MX$35.16

2.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.68 €1.51

$1.15 MX$21.37

46.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 €0.89

$1.18 MX$21.98

-16.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.60 €5.03

$4.30 MX$80.1

30.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.92 €7.11

$9.95 MX$185

-20.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 €1.45

$1.58 MX$29.52

1.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 €1.58

$2.67 MX$49.79

-34.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 €1.23

$0.55 MX$10.31

149.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.15 €39.66

$26.62 MX$496

65.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.20 €3.78

$4.97 MX$92.6

-15.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.65 €1.48

$3.33 MX$62.1

-50.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.09 €15.35

$5.36 MX$99.8

218.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.63 €1.46

$1.44 MX$26.92

13.19%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$35.7K €32.1K

$20.7K MX$385.2K

72.79%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$31.0K €27.9K

$23.5K MX$437.4K

32.18%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$126 €113

$84.8 MX$1,581

48.63%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$22.43 €20.15

$23.41 MX$436

-4.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.25 €31.66

$28.66 MX$534

22.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.5 €46.22

$57.1 MX$1,063

-9.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.64 €10.45

$28.91 MX$539

-59.74%

Cinema Ticket

$9.74 €8.75

$5.14 MX$95.8

89.49%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$408 €367

$207 MX$3,851

97.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,972 €4,466

$3,927 MX$73.2K

26.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.3 €82.0

$43.35 MX$808

110.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.34 €37.14

$41.44 MX$772

-0.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.5 €80.4

$74.2 MX$1,383

20.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 €102

$89.3 MX$1,664

27.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,166 €1,047

$980 MX$18.3K

18.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,000 €898

$381 MX$7,099

162.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,833 €1,646

$1,708 MX$31.8K

7.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,422 €1,277

$1,075 MX$20.0K

32.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,984 €3,579

$3,943 MX$73.5K

1.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,266 €2,036

$6,158 MX$114.8K

-63.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,852 €1,664

$735 MX$13.7K

152.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.56

11.45

-68.91%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Santa Cruz de Tenerife: October 26, 2026

Last update for Playa del Carmen: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$1,000 48.8%

Playa del Carmen

$381 31.6% 61.9% $619

Groceries & Markets

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$328 16%

Playa del Carmen

$255 21.2% 22.2% $73

Eating Out

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$253 12.3%

Playa del Carmen

$202 16.8% 19.9% $50

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$184 9%

Playa del Carmen

$137 11.4% 25.5% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$151 7.4%

Playa del Carmen

$112 9.3% 26.1% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$71 3.5%

Playa del Carmen

$67 5.6% 5.1% $3.6

Getting Around

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$62 3%

Playa del Carmen

$50 4.2% 18.7% $12

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,166 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife versus $980 in Playa del Carmen. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Santa Cruz de Tenerife are about 2.5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife versus $43 in Playa del Carmen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $328 vs $255 – making Playa del Carmen the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Santa Cruz de Tenerife

🇲🇽 Playa del Carmen

🕒 Local time

23:17 11:17 PM

18:17 6:17 PM

5 h behind Santa Cruz de Tenerife

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

209,395

149,923

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Playa del Carmen 7,120 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Playa del Carmen

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Santa Cruz de Tenerife vs Playa del Carmen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Santa Cruz de Tenerife is pricier by about 70%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,072 per month in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and $1,806 in Playa del Carmen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Playa del Carmen, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $980 there versus $1,166 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,048 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and $1,204 in Playa del Carmen. That makes Playa del Carmen about 41% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 40% less in Playa del Carmen. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Playa del Carmen, where all-in costs run around $1,204, than in Santa Cruz de Tenerife at $2,048. In Playa del Carmen it covers expenses comfortably, while in Santa Cruz de Tenerife it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Playa del Carmen – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Playa del Carmen. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Santa Cruz de Tenerife makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.